Stewart
- 1 -
Paul Stewart
11-27-2006
Revised 1-14-2007
Revised 3-29-2007
Revised 4-17-2007
Revised 4-26-2007
Revised 5-2-2007
Revised 5-10-2007
Chippewa High School: "Alma Mater"
The intent of this project was to create what could hypothetically become a new alma mater for Chippewa High School in Doylestown, Ohio. The students and faculty of the school have for some time expressed dislike for their Alma Mater. The band program has long since abandoned its performance, and the only organization remaining with any connection to the Alma Mater is the choral program at Chippewa High School.
Among current faculty, students, and administration, little is known about the original Chippewa High School Alma Mater.[1] The existing sheet music does not indicate date of composition, composer, or anything that would provide any insight into its origin or history. The only information available prior to this research was the lyrics and the music itself. The lyrics give no indication of its origin. Aside from the use of the school name, it could be about any school. The music also reveals little about the song's origin. It does seem to evoke the style that is often associated with the late 1800’s, a mix of elements of late romantic harmony with a popular music lilt, similar to American popular songs such as “In the Good Old Summertime” and “Daisy Bell”, indicating a late 19th or early 20th century composition date. Further research was required to find the true story of the Chippewa High School Alma Mater.
Two major resources revealed a great deal of information. The first was a souvenir history and pageant book from the Doylestown 125th anniversary celebrations held in July of 1952.[1] Doylestown Village Schools were renamed the Chippewa Township Schools on May 3rd, 1917. This indicated that the Alma Mater must have been composed sometime after that date. Between 1917 and 1939 Doylestown witnessed two new schools built to accommodate its growing population, the first in 1923 and the second in 1939. Each new building was made into the high school and the old building reorganized for younger students. Unfortunately, the pageant book did not indicate exactly when the schools became known as Chippewa High School. Also, there was no mention of the Alma Mater except as part of the Chippewa High School band concert program contained in the pageant booklet. It was, however, one of only two pieces on the program not to list the composer, the other being "Pageant Song", a song likely written for the pageant itself. Though the composer of "Pageant Song" was not listed, the writer and director of the pageant itself was listed as Charlotte B. Seaver, suggesting that Mrs. Seaver may have written "Pageant Song" and not felt the need to list herself as the composer. With that in mind, it is possible to assume that Mrs. Seaver may have also written the Alma Mater and also not indicated herself as the composer for the same reason. Still, most of the information from the pageant program was not concrete, providing leads at best.
Charlotte B. Seaver, circa 1952
The second major resource, a centennial celebration book about Chippewa High School from 1983, answered many questions and revealed much more concrete information on the Alma Mater and it's origin.[2] During World War II, Charlotte B. Seaver was recalled to the classroom when the principal had a need for her expertise, presumably as an experienced teacher. The source is not specific, but it indicates that Mrs. Seaver had been serving in WWII prior to her return to Chippewa High School, where she had also taught prior to the war. During her tour of duty, she and a group of her students composed the Alma Mater, setting the words to "Viennese Melody".[2] At the time, however, most people knew the high school as Doylestown High School, even though the schools had been renamed Chippewa Township Schools in 1917. The words of the Alma Mater, illustrated in Example One, refer specifically to Doylestown High School during WWII, calling it a "hilltop school."
Example One:
When e'er we hear that old familiar strain,
Our hearts to Doylestown High will turn again.
It brings to memory the friends we've made,
The lessons learned there and the games we've played.
We love her colors fair, the white and blue,
And pledge our loyalty in all we do.
The spirit of our school is deep and strong,
And we invoke that spirit in our song.
O, hilltop school, we're proud to call you home,
Our hearts will turn to you where e'er we roam;
And we shall always cherish our strong tie,
With you our alma mater, Doylestown High.
When the current high school was opened, it was named Chippewa High School, and it was no longer on a hilltop, so the students questioned the lyrics. Changing the alma mater was discussed and debated by the Chippewa High School Centennial Celebration Committee, suggesting not only changing the lyrics, but the possibility of a new melody as well. In the end, it was decided to merely change the words. The 100th graduating class in 1983 was given the special assignment of officially singing out the old Alma Mater and singing in the new one, illustrated in Example Two.
Example Two:
When e'er we hear that old familiar strain,
Our hearts to Chippewa will turn again.
It brings to memory the friends we've made,
The lessons learned there and the games we've played.
We love her colors fair, the white and blue,
And pledge our loyalty in all we do.
The spirit of our school is deep and strong,
And we invoke that spirit in our song.
Yes, Chippewa High, we're proud to call you home,
Our hearts will turn to you where e'er we roam;
And we shall always cherish our strong tie,
With you our alma mater, Chippewa High.
Mrs. Seaver (far left) pictured with some of her students in 1945
The decision to change the lyrics solved the problem of the alma mater at the time. Since then, however, it has fallen out of favor once more. It is not the lyrics, but the music itself. The current teachers and students express a general dislike of the alma mater and feel that they cannot identify with it. The band has long since stopped using it, and the choral students have no desire to sing it. It is with this in mind that the idea to create a possible new alma mater was conceived.
Stylistically, the current music it is unlike a typical alma mater. Instead of a stately 2/4 or 4/4 time, it is in a dance-like 6/8. The harmonies are unusually chromatic, the melody is difficult to sing in tune, and the parts are monotonous and unmusical. The current text setting of the Alma Mater contains unusual word and phrase stresses, that when coupled with unusual harmonies creates awkward musical expressions for the singer. All of these features are illustrated in Example Three.
Example Three:
Excerpt from the original Chippewa High School Alma Mater
Initially, the intent was to create a new, more accessible arrangement of the original alma mater, but when the piece was broken down and it was discovered that the harmonies and the melody were too closely tied, to modify only one or the other did not solve the musical or textural problems of the song. Neither could stand independently. It was then decided that entirely new music was needed.
When making considerations for the new Alma Mater, there were several goals. One was to return to a statelier, ceremonial time and feel. Another was to use simpler, traditional harmonies to make the song more accessible and easier to sing. Another was to craft an "a cappella" arrangement that was easy to sing, yet original and interesting enough to justify its repeated use. Finally, it was decided to preserve the original text. In this case, the music was detracting from the text, which is not by any means of poor quality. In addition, the goal of an alma mater is to create a sense of pride and unity among current students and alumni. The text was written by a former Chippewa High School teacher and was used for many years. Even after the school officially changed from Doylestown High School to Chippewa High School, the text was still maintained with a few minor alterations. By maintaining the original text, there is still a sense of unity and tradition while allowing for new music.
In crafting the new melody, the decision was made to find the natural stresses of speech in the text and use those to generate the rhythm of the melody. The melodic pitch was generated in a similar manner. By singing the text and using the natural rise and fall of the spoken phrases, a basic melodic contour was found. With some clarification and consideration of the desired stately feel, this became the new melody of the A section, shown in Example Four.
Example Four:
The rhythm of the B section, shown below in Example Five, was generated again using the natural stresses of the text, but melodically it was decided to have a more sequential, repetitive, harmonically based melody in order to create a clear break from the A section.
Example Five:
The C section, shown in Example Six, used the same basis of speech stresses to generate the rhythm along with the continuing feel of sequence and repetition, but the melody in this section was generated by textual considerations. The text at this point reads, “The spirit of our school is deep and strong, and we invoke that spirit in our song.” The words “deep and strong” created the desire to have the melody in a significantly lower range, and the final text “and we invoke that spirit in our song” is a natural lead in to the return of the A section material, thus those words lead into a dominant seventh chord, creating a natural inclination to return home.
Example Six:
In crafting the voicing for traditional mixed chorus, the goal was to create an interesting arrangement that would be a challenge and a joy for the students to sing, rather than a chore as the original Alma Mater had become for them. The first A section uses a standard homophonic setting with the melody in the soprano line. To create contrast, the B and C sections feature certain parts. The B section has the melody in the alto, a two- part accompaniment in the men’s parts, and a fanfare-like flourish in the soprano. This was also included as possible motivation for the band to use the new Alma Mater, as the soprano line could be a very appropriate trumpet part. The C section provides contrast by featuring the men singing the melody in two-parts while the women sing the harmony on held “ah’s.” The return of the A material is varied by a soprano descant which appears a third above the melody and some descending figures in the bass that are very commonly found in the tuba parts of other traditional alma maters, again to perhaps inspire the new Alma Mater’s use by the band.
Originally, this arrangement was written in the key of C major, ignoring vocal ranges and capabilities. A discussion of the ranges with Shauna McClosky, the current Chippewa High School choir director, resulted in changing to a lower key. Following the advice of Dr. Gene Milford, a University of Akron professor with much experience in writing alma maters, A-flat major was chosen as a suitable key. This, however, made it necessary to rewrite many individual parts, such as the bass part, which descended to a Db below the bass clef, much too low for high school basses. This inspired a very slight revision of the harmony and melody in the A section which is shown in Example Seven.
Example Seven:
First two measures prior to revision First two measures after revision
Dr. Gene Milford also suggested that the arrangement might be too difficult, especially if the regular student body and community were to be expected to sing it as well. This inspired the decision to create a second, alternative arrangement. This arrangement lacks the complexities of the arrangement preceding it, exploiting the simplicity and practicality contained in the background of the original. It remains in strict SATB voicing and maintains the melody in the soprano line throughout. Comparatively, the first statement of A section is exactly the same between the two versions in all parts. The differences between the two versions begin in the B section.
With the completion of the new Alma Mater, the process began of introducing the piece to students, teachers, and administrators. Unfortunately, the administration has decided that now is not the right time to introduce a new Alma Mater. The new composition shall, for now, serve as a hypothetical solution to the problem of the current Alma Mater. Someday, it may get a chance to be sung by the choir at Chippewa High School, and perhaps even be officially approved. In spite of this, the knowledge of the current Alma Mater that was gained through the preparatory research is invaluable to the students, staff, and alumni of Chippewa High School
[1] Shauna McClosky, the current choral director at Chippewa High School actively sought out information about the alma mater between 8/2006 and 12/2006 and was unable to gain any information from teachers, principals, or administrators.
[2] Since there are a great many Viennese melodies, the exact composer of the melody is unknown.
[1] Doylestown 125th Anniversary, 1827-1952: Souvenir History and Pageant Book, Rittman Press. Rittman, Ohio. 1952
[2] Chippewa High School, 1883-1983, Doylestown, Ohio